Scientific Method —

Go East, young scientist

Singapore is to double its research spending to 3% of GDP.

When one thinks of countries that are scientific heavyweights, places like the US, UK, or Germany spring to mind. Not unsurprisingly, as high GDP and a long history of academic research gives these countries a base from which to work, one that is lacking in, say, Zimbabwe. But just because that is the current order of things, there's no reason to assume it will always stay that way. As we covered back in February, Asia in particular is increasing its science spending right now, and Singapore is a shining example of that.

This city state, known as the 'Switzerland of the East' and famed for banning chewing gum and caning US vandals, has been pouring money into the sciences over recent years to build up expertise in a range of disciplines. The offer of large salaries and extensive grants have lured a number of high-flying researchers to Singaporean institutes. Now the Singaporean government have announced that they are to double their research spending to three percent of GDP over the next five years in an effort not to lose out to India and China, the two regional powerhouses. Although the Singaporean model has a lot to offer scientists, the Singaporean government's largesse sometimes comes with strings attached. When there is a particular problem they want addressed, other studies must take a back seat. This was used to some effectiveness suring both the SARS epidemic, and more recently with H5N1.

Back in the US, with federal research dollars becoming ever harder to come by, enterprising biotech startups are turning to charities for seed money, as well as venture capitalists. A variation on the theme of non-profit drug companies , these charities see investing in biotechs that have potential applications for the diseases they care about as a good way of achieving their aims.